Government announces new £5m fund to tackle youth violence

The government has announced that a £5m fund will be made available to support local authority activities aimed at preventing serious youth violence.

The fund launched by James Brokenshire, Secretary of State for Housing Communities and Local Government, enhances the existing package of support provided by local Troubled Families Programmes and is available over the financial years 2018/19 and 2019/20. All upper tier local authorities in England who are part of the Troubled Families programme are eligible to apply.

Writing in the fund prospectus Mr Brokenshire said ‘We need a new emphasis on enduring solutions to prevent young people becoming involved in crime and violence in the first place’.

‘The Troubled Families programme shares an emphasis on early intervention and has, over the past seven years, seen whole families who are facing complex challenges being given in-depth support by local agencies and the voluntary sector working in close partnership. This approach has helped to tackle issues as they arise, not when they are already entrenched. As such, it has a lot to offer when it comes to combatting youth crime’.